Centrifugal liquid cleaner



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Patented Dec. 20. 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFTCE 4 Claims.

The invention aims to provide a new and improved device forcentrifugally separating foreign matter from a liquid and depositing theseparated foreign matter, commonly known as sludge, in a sump, fromwhich `it may be periodically drained to keep the device in perfectworking condition.

The device is particularly adapted for continuously cleaning enginelubricating oil and cooling liquids used in some types f machines andis, therefore, useable toY advantage in place of custoniary lters whichrequire periodic replacement of filter cartridges instead of meredraining off of accumulated sludge.

Figure l of the` accompanying drawings is a vertical sectional View ofone form of cleaner constructed in accordancewith the invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are horizontal sectional view-s substantially on lines2--2 and 3 3 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section showing another form of construction.

Fig. 5 is a detail horizontal section on line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

The construction shown in the drawings will be rather specicallydescribed but attention is invited to the possibility of makingvariations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

In Figs. 1 to 3, a casing 5 is provided,` said casing having a verticalVcylindrical side wall 6, a dome-like top l and a cupped bottom 8. Asuitable flange-gasket-and-bolt connection 9 is shown between the top land the side wall 6, and the bottom 3 is permanently connected with saidside wall. A mounting bracket 3l] is provided on wall 6.

An upper partition disk IIJ extends across the casing 5 and is anchoredat itsV peripheral edge by means of the connection 9, said partitiondisk ill being declined from said edge to its center and having anopening II at the latter; and a lower partition disk I2 extends acrosssaid casing and divides the latter into an upper liquid-cleaning chamberI3 and a lower sump chamber I4. This lower partition disk I2 has a flatouter portion the peripheral edge of which is spaced inwardly from theside wall 6 to provide a continuous passage !5 placing the two chambersI3 and I4 in communication with each other. The lower partition disk i2has a raised central portion and its intermediate portion declines fromsaid central portion to said flat outer portion. The lower partitiondisk I2 is provided in its declined intermediate portion with openingsI'Za and is centrally secured at I5 to the lower end of a centralverticalV shaft I'I which is securedto and projects downwardly from thecasing top l, said shaft extending centrally through the opening II. Inthe presentdisclosure, the upper end of the shaft Il is threaded intothe lower end of a liquid outlet connection EB, said connection i8 beingsecured in a central opening in the cone-shaped casing top 'i andadapted for connecting a hose or pipe to the casing 5 to conduct thecleaned liquid from said casing. The portion of the shaft i? between thetwo partition disks I0 and I2 is rotatably surrounded by the hub I9 of apaddle wheel 2t; and a liquid inlet connection 2|, for connection with aliquid conducting hose or pipe, is secured in an opening in the casingside wall 5 at the periphery of said paddle wheel, said connection beingsubstantially midway of the height of the chamber I3. The connection 2|has a liquid-injectingv opening 22 for circumferentially directing a jetof liquid in the cleaning chamber I3 and against the paddles 23 of thepaddle wheel ZIJ. IhiswvheelV ZIJ has openings 26a near its center.

Radial upright1 baffles 24 are located in the sump chamber Ill, and adrain valve 25 is pro vided for the lower end of said chamber |41 in thecenter of the inverted cone-shaped bottom wall` il. Said valve is heldnormally closed by means of a spring 26 and carries a yoke 2l againstwhich a` cam or the like may be upwardly pushed to eiiect valve opening.To admit air to the casing 5 and` permit sump draining, through holes25a, a` suitable spring-closed, manuallyopened `valve 28 has been shown.It will be noted that the radial upright bailles 2li have their outeredges in contact with the side wall t and the bottomwall 8, and thattheir upper edges are spaced below the raised central and intermediatep0rtion-s of the partition I2 while their lower edges are spaced AaboveAthe valve 25.

The liquid to be cleaned is forced into the casing throughtheinletconnection 2l, rotates the paddle wheel 20, and gradually fills saidcasing. During this initial filling, as soon as the liquid rises to thepaddle wheel 20, said liquid will be circumferentially whirled by saidwheel, and when the liquid rises Vabove the jet opening 22, the incomingliquid jet alsoacts directly on the rising body of liquid t0 exert awhirling force. Due `to the whirling ofthe liquid, relatively heavyforeign matter, in suspension in said liquid, will be centrifugallythrown against the side wall 6 and will gravitate through the passage i5into the sump chamber I4, and the cleaned liquid will rise through theopening i I, and when it reaches the outlet connection I8, willgradually discharge. The liquid and foreignmatter entering the sumpchamber le are quieted by the baffles 24 and the foreign matter settlesto the lower end of -said sump chamber, the liquid in the upper portionof this chamber being, therefore, comparatively clean. Foreign matterdescending into the sump chamber I4 through the passage I5, mustdisplace liquid from the upper end of said sump chamber I4 and thisliquid rises through the openings I2a into the central zone of thecleaning chamber I3 without mingling with the descending foreign matterand is subjected to rewhirling and re-cleaning. Any foreign matterdescending onto the lower partition I2 will be directed toward thepassage I5 for entrance into the sump chamber Ill, and any which haspassed the upper partition I0 will gravitate onto said partition,descend through the opening II and enter the cleaning chamber I3 whereit will be further subjected to the Separating action. The openings a inthe paddle wheel 20 permit the relatively quiet liquid at the center ofthe whirling body to ascend with little agitation toward the opening I Ifor upward flow to the outlet connection |81, but if a spoke-type wheelwere used, these openings would not be necessary. Periodically, thesludge must be drained from the sump by opening the valve 25. When thisis done, the air admission valve 28 must be opened to admit air unlessthe installation be such that air can enter through the outlet line.Otherwise the sump could be drained only very slowly if at all. Aftereach draining, the device will again operate efciently for a period oftime depending of course upon the quantity of foreign matter with whichthe liquid is laden.

Attention is invited to the fact that upward removal of the casing top'I will effect upward withdrawal of the shaft I'I, partition IU, paddle`wheel 2e and partition I 2, unitarily with said top 1. This is ofadvantage should it be necessary to disassemble the apparatus for anyreason and when reassembling. Then too, the unitary connection of theseelement-s is of particular advantage when initially assembling at thefactory.

In Figs. 4 and 5, a simplified construction is disclosed having nopaddle wheel and no upper partition. The elements used in theconstruction have been given the same reference numbers as thecorresponding elements of Fig-s. 1 to 3, plus the exponent b, and theonly additional explanations necessary are that the partition IZb iswelded at 29 to the baffles 24h, and the jet of liquid from the opening22D of the inlet connection 2lb alone acts to whirl the liquid in thecleaning chamber. This simplified construction 'is adequate for cleanersof the smaller sizes, but

the rst described construction is more eicient for larger cleaners.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a novel and efficient cleanerhas been provided which will require only periodic draining off ofsludge instead of any renewal of lter cartridges. While preferences havebeen disclosed, attention is again invited to the possibility of makingvariations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

l. In a centrifugal liquid cleaner, a casing having an uprightcylindrical side wall, a coneshaped top wall having its periphery fixedto the top of said side wall and having at its center a clean liquidoutlet, `an inverted cone-shaped bottom wall having its peripherysecured to the bottom of said side wall and provided at its center witha valve-controlled sediment outlet, a circular partition supportedhorizontally in said casing approximately midway of the height of saidyside wall and dividing said casing into an upper liquid-cleaning chamberand a lower settling chamber, said partition having a iiat outer portionwith its peripheral edged spaced inwardly from said s-ide wall toprovide a continuous passage placing said chambers in communication witheach other, said partition also having a raised central portion and anintermediate portion which declines from said central portion to saidfiat outer portion, an inlet connection for the liquid to be cleanedpositioned in said side wall at a point substantially midway of theheight of said liquid cleaning chamber, said connection having aliquid-injecting opening directed to circumferentially whirl the liquidin said liquid-cleaning chamber, whereby relatively heavy foreign mattersuspended in the liquid will be centrifugally moved to said side walland will gravitate through said continuous passage into said settlingchamber, said continuous passage being the sole means for admittingdescending foreign matter into said settling chamber, and a plurality ofupright radial baliies in said settling chamber extending from the underside of the flat outer portion of said partition down to said bottomwall, the upper edges of said baffles being spaced downwardly from theraised central and intermediate portions of said partition and the loweredges of said baflies being spaced upwardly from said valve-controlledsediment outlet, the outer edges of said baiiles being in contact withsaid side wall and bottom wall of said casing whereby said baffles willquiet the liquid in said settling chamber and permit the foreign matterentering through said continuous passage to settle into the low centralportion of said settling chamber above said sediment outlet, leavingcomparatively clean liquid in the upper part of said settling chamber,said partition having in its declined intermediate portion a pluralityof small openings through which comparatively clean liquid in the upperpart of the settling chamber may ascend into the central zone of saidliquid-cleaning chamber without mingling with foreign matter descendingfrom said liquid-cleaning chamber as said comparatively clean liquid isdisplaced by foreign matter entering said settling chamber only throughsaid continuous passage.

2. A structure as specified in claim l, together with a second circularpartition extending entirely across said casing above the aforesaidpartition and having its outer periphery at the juncture of said topwall with said side wall, said second partition being declined from itsperipheral edge toward its center and having a central opening throughwhich the outgoing liquid ascende, a paddle wheel in saidliquid-cleaning chamber between said two partitions and havingperipheral paddles in close proximity to the casing side wall, and meansmounting said paddle wheel on a vertical axis in position to be drivensolely by the liquid jet from said liquid-injecting opening.

' 3. In a centrifugal liquid cleaner, a casing provided with acylindrical vertical side wall having an inwardly projecting inlet forthe liquid to be cleaned, a bottom, and an upwardly removable top havinga cleaned liquid outlet; a central vertical shaft secured to andprojecting downwardly from said top, a disk centrally secured to thelower end of said shaft and dividing said casing into an upperliquid-cleaning chamber and a lower liq- `uid-settling chamber, saiddisk being declined from its center toward its peripheral edge andhaving the latter spaced from said side wall to provide a continuouspassage placing said chambers in communication with each other, and apaddle Wheel rotatably mounted on said shaft within said liquid-cleaningchamber, said disk and paddle wheel being of sufciently small diameterto, clear said inwardly projecting liquid inlet when said casing top,said cleaned liquid outlet, said shaft, said disk and said paddle wheelare upwardly moved as a single unit from said side wall, said liquidinlet having a liquid-injecting opening for directing a liquid jetagainst the paddles of said paddle Wheel to drive the latter and therebywhirl the liquid in said liquid-cleaning chamber, whereby relativelyheavy foreign mattei' suspended in the liquid will be centrifugallymoved to said side Wall and will gravitate through saidcontinuouspassage into said settling chamber, gsaid continuous passage being thesole means foradmitting descending foreign matter into said fsettlingchamber, and*` means in said settling chamber for quieting the liquidtherein to permit the foreign matter entering said settling chamberthrough said continuous passage to settle into the lower end of saidsettling chamber, leaving comparatively clean liquid in the upper end ofsaid settling chamber, said disk having at least one opening near itscenter through which said comparatively clean liquid in the upper end ofsaid settling chamber may ascend to the central zone of saidliquid-cleaning chamber without mingling with foreign matter descendingfrom said liquid-cleaning chamber as said comparatively clean liquid isdisplaced by foreign matter entering said settling chamber only throughsaid continuous passage,

4. A structure as specified in claim 3; together with a second partitionextending entirely across said casing above said paddle wheel and heldin place by said casing top, said second partition being declined towardits center and having a central opening through which said shaftextends, this opening being of greater diameter than said shaft topermit it to upwardly conduct the outgoing cleaned liquid.

MICHAEL DEBREY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,301,544 Crombie Apr. 22, 19191,753,403 Cushman et al. Apr. 8,` 1930 1,818,476 Green Aug. 11, 19311,900,394 Cottrell Mar. 7, 1933 1,921,689 Meurk Aug. 8 1933 1,972,057'Somers Aug. 28, 1934 2,313,896 Scheble Mar. 16, 1943

